Lifestream?
by Blades
Summary: After the destruction of Meteor, Wutai makes its move for revenge. However, a more sinister force looks for revenge against the planet as a whole.
1. Prelude

__

…Lifestream?

Prelude

Cloud's senses began to finally return to his real body. As he looked up, he no longer saw the familiar hand reaching through the green glow of the Lifestream, but the gloved hand of his old friend, searching for him. She was yelling out to him, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.

Suddenly, the ground began to fall out from under the Soldier. His body flailed around as he tried to find his footing. As he looked up, he noticed the ground giving way under Tifa, as well. Cloud regained his composure, stomped his feet down, and darted forward. With two quick steps, he leaped into the air, snagging his falling comrade from the air, and, reaching out as far as he could, grabbed on to the solid ledge.

Tifa opened her eyes, and held her friend's embrace, relieved they were both okay, for the moment. She looked up to his glowing eyes, the beautiful blue eyes that had held her attention ever since she found Cloud at the train station so long ago.

"I think I'm beginning to understand," Cloud finally said thoughtfully. 

"What?" Tifa asked in surprise.

"The Promised Land…" he began softly. "I think I can meet her, there."

Tifa felt a slight pain in her heart. She had worked so hard, done so much, and now, after all they had been through, he still thought of her. She closed her eyes tightly and put her head to his chest as they hung from the cliff. "Yeah, let's go meet her…there."

The woods were so damned quiet. No rustle of the wind blowing through leaves. No animals moving. Nothing. The only sound that could be heard was the heavy breathing of the two men, trying desperately to hide behind the trees. Sweat beaded down their faces, and dropped to the ground. 

"Listen," one of the men whispered to the other. "Spencer, if we split up, one of us surely will get away."

Spencer shook his head quickly. "We're already disoriented. If we try to run off, we'll continue to be lost in the forest!"

"Just keep moving in one direction. You're bound to come out the other side eventually."

Suddenly, the bush behind the two lit up with a large fireball. "Run! They've found us!"

The two split up, running in opposite directions. Spencer charged to his left, dodging trees and bushes. In the distance he heard a sudden cry of pain. He stopped and listened. "Will?" he whispered hysterically. "Will? Don't be dead Will, don't be dead!"

The young man turned and darted down a small path towards the sunlight. He could hear rustling and movement all around him. He was being chased. Hunted. Was it animals? No, he could hear them speaking, though he couldn't make out the language.

Finally, he stopped. Breathing heavily, he couldn't run anymore. He pulled his small digging knife out, and held it in front of him. "Whoever you are!" he yelled, "Whoever you are, I have a knife and I know how to use it!"

He listened carefully, but heard nothing. After a few moments, he heard some chanting, followed by the whirling sound made by materia use. 

Spencer's eyes went wide, and he ducked as quick as he could. He covered his head as a tree next to him became shrouded in ice. The magic shot had missed, fortunately.

"I am sure…" a deep voice came from behind. "…A knife will not be too much use against us."

Spencer turned and saw his enemy for the first time. A young man sat on the back of a gold-colored Chocobo, his long brown hair flowing in the gentle breeze that had just kicked up. He was wrapped in cloaks, and carried ancient weapons, much like that which they had dug up recently at the site. In fact, now that he thought about it, the soldier looked a lot like some of the men in the pictures in his old history books.

"You are lucky, little one." The voice bellowed out. "You are going to be my messenger."

Spencer breathed a sigh of relief. He pulled himself up to his feet. "Thanks be…I was worried you were going to kill me."

The soldier smiled. "Oh, I am. That's the fun part of this. You don't even have to be alive to give my message."

As Spencer let out an audible cry, the foliage around him began to fill up with more soldiers on Chocoboback. They all held out materia and smiled at him.

No matter how much he splashed water up to his face, the dirt, grime, and even traces of blood just wouldn't come off. It didn't matter, much, anyhow. It was hard to look into the mirror and see the face that looked back. 

Ever since he regained his full memory, something just never seemed to look right to Cloud when he peered into the mirror. Perhaps it was the Mako eyes. Maybe it was the "borrowed" uniform of the late First-Class Soldier. Or, maybe it was simply how much pain the face had been through over the last 8 years. 

Cloud had never really been one to dwell on past problems, though. When his father left, he still continued on with his mother. When he didn't make First Class, he continued with Shin-Ra anyway. The young man just rolled with the punches.

However, recent experiences just couldn't be rolled over. What's more, it wasn't over. Sephiroth was dead. Meteor was destroyed. The planet was saved. However, there was so much more to do, now, in the vacuum left by the destruction of Shin-Ra. And, there was Aeris.

The Soldier splashed water on his face once more, grabbed a towel and dried himself off before slipping his uniform on. He opened the curtains of his upstairs bedroom window, and took in the beautiful countryside surrounding Kalm. The small town had become something of a makeshift base camp to help the refugees of Midgar. Cloud, Barret, and Tifa, the last of Avalanche had come here, hoping to help with the relief.

"It's good to see you're bathing again," a lovely voice rang through the room from the stairs. "I just wish you knew how to do laundry. Or, at the very least, I wish you owned more than one of those uniforms."

Cloud smiled and turned to his old friend. "If the knowledge and wisdom of the ancients is contained in materia, don't you think that there would be a more practical materia, like 'clean' somewhere?"

"It wouldn't matter if there was. Yuffie would have run off with it just as she did with all the other orbs."

Tifa walked up into the room, and set down her bags. Her long, brown hair flowed behind her, and she was wearing a yellow sweater with a slightly long blue dress. Though Cloud would never admit it to her, she looked as beautiful as ever. "You're dressed a bit different, today."

"Yeah, well, we're not having to charge into battle. What's more, the temperature out there is freezing."

Cloud smiled again, and turned back to his view of the countryside. "Tifa?" he asked.

"Yes?" 

"Do you remember the Lifestream? I mean…when we were there together?" Cloud asked, turning to her.

"Of course," she replied.

"I never said…well, that is…I never…I–Tha–." Before he could finish there was a ringing, which Cloud was quick to try to answer. Tifa stood patiently with her arms crossed, waiting for him to finish.

Cloud picked up the PHS and answered. 

"Who is it?" Tifa whispered.

Cloud's wide eyes narrowed. His jaw clenched. "I'll be there as quick as I can."

Tifa could hear the door downstairs slam shut and heavy feet stomp up the stairs. "Did I jes' hear the PHS?" Barret's booming voice called out.

Cloud walked across the room and pulled his sword and sheath from the closet and strapped them to his back. "It was Red. There was an attack on the archaeologists at the Northern Continent."

"There are still a lot of monsters close to the craters and around on the southern tip," Tifa said. "What is the big problem? They should have soldiers there protecting them."

"They weren't attacked by monsters," Cloud replied. "They were attacked by soldiers. Whoever did the job was very skilled with Materia."

"Why would someone wanna attack a buncha turkeys like them?" Barret said. "It jus' don' make sense."

"That's what I'm going to go find out," the soldier said, moving across the room.

"You mean WE'RE going to find out," Tifa replied.

"No can do," Barret interrupted. "Not dis time, Tifa. Some former Shin-Ra Soldiers are about in the area trying to rob ref'gees. If we don' stay and help, who knows what will happen aroun' here. If you go, that only leaves me wit' Reeve, an' I'll strangle him if I'm left alone wit' him."

"But," Tifa began.

"No buts," Cloud interrupted her. "Not this time. You're needed here. Besides, Red and Cid are going to meet me there. The three of us are big boys. We can handle things."

Tifa looked back to Barret for help, but saw none coming. She then turned to Cloud pleadingly. "Please, be careful, and come back in one piece."

Cloud walked past Barret and Tifa. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped suddenly and turned back to the two. "Thank you, Tifa. No one else could have helped me." The soldier turned and continued on his way.

"Now, what in the name of Jenova do you suppose that was 'bout?" Barret asked. He turned to his friend, but she did not reply. "Tifa, you okay?"

Tears of joy slid down her cheeks.


	2. Where mortals fear tread, Immortals walk...

**__**

-Where mortals fear tread, immortals walk freely-

**Northern Continent**

"You know, for it being so far north, it does get awful bleedin' hot around here," the tall man with spiky blonde hair complained. Pulling his goggles from his head, he drew out his handkerchief and wiped his forehead. "'Course, the smell around here doesn't make it much more pleasant."

"I would find it easier to investigate the bodies if you didn't complain so much, Cid," the four-legged companion replied. "I'm hoping maybe the types of burns would indicate what kind of materia was used. Maybe from that, we could figure out who did all this." 

Early morning found the two searching an encampment that housed the team of archaeologists which had been digging in this area for some time. At the top of the plateau, a small house made from a Dinosaur's skull was surrounded by bodies. As was a small tunnel dug into the earth on the lower shoulder of the camp. "Barret's right, you know," Cid yelled from the top of the plateau. "You're a cold one, Red."

"Keep in mind, Barret's not exactly the friendliest tyke around, either," Red argued back. Red XIII sniffed the air a little more, trying to follow hastily covered tracks to the ladder. "Argh. I can't smell too much. You would think eventually these archaeologists would clean up the oil from this downed jet. Do you see much up there?"

"Tracks, here, too," Cid replied, scratching his head. They were raked up, just like the ones down there."

"It just doesn't make sense," Red snorted in frustration. "Who kills ten people, leaves the bodies, and rakes up their footprints?" 

Cid lit up another cigarette and walked over to the cliff. "Maybe it's someone's idea of a sick joke. There is something they missed, though." 

Red's ears turned back towards Cid. "Oh yeah?" 

The Pilot took a long drag on the cigarette, and let the smoke flow out his nose. "Yeah, two sets of footprints into the forest. I also found a chocobo track behind a bush. Looks like they missed it when they were cleaning up."

Red turned around and looked up at Cid. "Curiouser and Curiouser."

"You wanna follow them?" Cid asked. "Maybe someone's still alive out there?"

"No. We have to wait on Cloud to get here," Red replied, digging at some of the dirt with his paw. 

"Cloud?" Cid asked, somewhat surprised. "It's going to take him another day to get here. This isn't hard work; we can just go in and search around."

"I know, but Cloud's the one who's got the Earth Harp," Red replied. We can't go in until he gets here, or we'll fall asleep."

"Stupid sleeping forest," Cid spat, kicking at the ground. When he kicked, some of the loose ground gave way, falling to the lower ridge. The falling rocks took part of a blanket that had been draped over the edge of a cliff with them.

"Gracious me…" Red whispered, looking at the cliff where the blanket had been hung. "Cid! You may want to come down here." 

Cid walked around to the ladder. "What? What did I do?" 

Red went up to the cliff and began sniffing the walls, looking for a scent. "This blanket looked awfully strange. It looked new. Now I understand. The diggers didn't put it up at all." 

Cid hopped off the ladder and rushed around to the jet and looked up at the cliff. Across the wall, painted with the blood of humans was a message, big and messy. Cid gasped, cigarette falling from his mouth. "Strife," he read aloud. 

Red turned to his companion. "I don't suppose it's a political message? Someone complaining about how much strife there is in the world?"

"Bloody hell," Cid whispered to himself.

****

Kalm 

"Come back here! I need that bell!"

The refugees from Midgar had witnessed many things in their lives. Everything from falling sections of their city to a meteor falling meters from their houses. But many a person couldn't help but laugh at the site of a stuffed toy cat chasing a little girl running through the camps surrounding Kalm.

"MAR-LENE! Give that back to me!" the toy cat screamed out.

"What do you need this for, you're not even real!" Marlene giggled.

"It's my transmitter!" the whiny voice screamed out. "Without it, I can't control Mog!" 

"Well, if you wan' it, you have ta catch me!" the little girl yelled, dodging around people, and under their legs. The toy cat was nimble, but not as nimble as a 7 year-old girl.

"Boy, you sure are a slow—" Marlene's words cut off as she ran right into what felt like a brick wall.

"Wait!" the cat yelled, running through the crowd. Without seeing what had just happened, it ran through a lady's legs and smacked into the wall, too, knocking itself silly.

"Ow," Marlene whispered, holding her head. 

"I know what you mean," the cat replied, trying to steady himself. "That's a hard wall." 

Suddenly, the cat's tail was grabbed and yanked up into the air. He let out a gasp as he was pulled, upside-down, to Barret's face. "Cait Sith, I ain't no wall."

"Uh-heh, heh, Yeah, I know that," Cait Sith sputtered, trying to not look up Barret's nose. "Check, no wall."

"The hell you doing, Reeve?" Barret asked Cait Sith. "You need to stop messin' with this stupid toy, and start doing your job in person."

"Uh, well, actually, Reeve set me on auto-pilot," Cait Sith replied. "He's not controlling me, right now." 

"Well, then, where is the twerp?" Barret asked.

Cait Sith trembled with every word Barret spoke. "Um, well, I--I think he—he's up in the tower,"

"And what are you doing here?" Barret thundered. "You know there are thieves and bad soldiers in the area."

"Actually, I didn't want to come here, but your daughter took my transmitter!"

Barret looked down to the ground at the little red-haired girl looking back up at him, almost in tears. "And what you got to say for yo'self?"

"Sorry, Daddy, I just…I just wanted to play a little," Marlene whimpered. 

Barret dropped the toy cat on its head and leaned down to the girl, wiping her tears away with his hand. "Marlene, you can't just take off. You need to watch out, there a lot a bad people around."

"But, Daddy, no one will hurt me," Marlene whimpered. "They're all afraid of…you." 

Barret smiled. He leaned over a little, picked up the young girl, and raised her to his shoulder. "Damn right they scared. They better be, too." Marlene let out a loud laugh, and hugged her father's head as he began walking back to the house.

Meanwhile, Cait Sith rolled back over to his feet. "Hey! Wait! I need my transmitter!" 

Loud voices screamed out. Some yelled at people on the telephone, while others sat at desks in busy meetings. There was one person in the room who just didn't seem to fit in, though. She stood by the window, arms crossed, looking out of the tall tower at the masses encircled around the town. The wind blew in through the window, gently caressing her face, and blowing her hair and blue dress behind her and into the room.

"Ms. Lockheart?" a young, bearded man asked. "Have you been here long?" 

Tifa turned from the window and smiled at the man. Though once she would have considered him an enemy, she now looked at the young man as a friend. "Reeve," she answered kindly. "No, not long. I'm sorry for being over here, but I didn't know where to wait for you." 

"Nonsense," Reeve laughed. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come to you, but you wouldn't believe how busy it is up here. There is so much to do since the fall of Shinra."

"Barret will be here any minute, but he said to go ahead and start without him," Tifa said. "I'll be sure to catch him up on anything he misses."

"Very well," Reeve replied. "I just want to say thank you for…Well, for everything you and Cloud and everyone else have done." 

"You helped…Though I don't want to admit it," a coarse, rumbling voice came from behind. "Barret!" Tifa smiled, "You're just in time!"

"Ah, yes, very good," Reeve smiled.

"Shu' up," Barret grumbled, walking past the former Shinra executive and sitting down on the window edge.

A perplexed look spread across Reeve's face, but he quickly shook it off. "Well, anyway, I asked you here because we're getting some unusual reports from Wutai."

"Wutai?" Tifa asked, somewhat surprised. "Who's giving you reports from Wutai?" 

"Well, let's just say some old Shinra employees are still helping us out," Reeve said, carefully. 

"Damn Shinra," Barret grumbled. "Never can trust 'em."

"What are the reports saying?" Tifa asked, ignoring her large friend.

"Well, they're not saying a whole lot," Reeve answered. "But they are giving indications that Wutai may not be as…peaceful… as they were not so long ago." 

"Wutai is re-arming?" Barret asked. "Why on earth would they do that?" 

Reeve shook his head and rubbed his chin a little. "Who knows. Revenge, maybe? Maybe they just want to take advantage of our de-centralization right now. Unfortunately, we've got our hands so tied up with feeding and finding new homes for refugees, we can't even send troops out to find out if the stories are true. Or, if they are true, we can't spare any to suppress any army they may be building."

"So, this is where we come in?" Barret asked with a frown. "You wan' us to be Shinra lackeys?"

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Reeve took a long, deep breath. "Shinra isn't in business anymore. We're not sending you on a mission. We're asking if you could help the people around here by contacting your friend, uh…Kisaragi, or whatever her name was, and maybe finding out what's going on." 

Tifa shook her head slowly. "Well, we're really not too happy with Yuffie right now, ourselves."

"That stupid thief ran off wit' all our materia," Barret added.

"That's too bad," Reeve replied. "But you can still contact her?" 

Barret and Tifa looked at each other. "I…guess…we could see what we could do." 

"Good. With all the power out all over the world, you'll likely not be able to call her from here. You'll have to sneak into the country to speak with her. Meet our agents at the Inn in Rocket Town. You'll have to find your own way there, though, all the helicopters are being used to ship refugees to other towns." 

Barret stood up and looked down at Reeve. "Jes' keep in mind one thing. We don't take orders from no stinkin' Shinra, understand? We're gonna go find out what's happening and put an end to it." 

Before Reeve could reply, Barret strolled right past him, knocking his shoulder into the Shinra exec.

Tifa looked a little flustered as she walked past. "I think he's just having a bad day." 

Reeve turned and let out the air he had held in his lungs for the last minute. "I'd hate to see him on a good day."

****

Northern Continent 

"Wark!" 

The tired chocobo came to a stop at the top of the ridge. Cloud climbed down from its back and pulled his goggles up. He reached into the satchel and pulled out a sandwich and some mimett greens for the chocobo. "Here, Goldy, eat up," Cloud whispered. "You did a great job." 

The sun was beginning to fall behind the forest and the distant mountains, and the orange sky was a sight to behold. The northern latitudes really made the sunlight shine brightly, and lit the sky ablaze in color. The tired rider munched on his sandwich and tied Goldy's reigns to the landing wheel of the Highwind. As

Cloud walked away, he couldn't help but snicker at what was left of the ship. "I wonder," Cloud thought aloud, "if Aeris would still want to ride in you?"

"Hey, no one talks to my ship that way," the rough and familiar voice came from behind. "Especially not some spikey-haired crazy #$%*." 

"Cid! Red--or Nanaki--or whatever you go by!" Cloud said, truly happy to see his old comrades. 

"Red is fine," Red replied, almost smiling.

"Thank God you're here, Cloud," Cid said loudly. "I was about to die of boredom."

"Red not good company?" Cloud asked. 

"I am perfectly fine company," Red interrupted. "Cid just doesn't get excited by historical inaccuracies of modern humans towards the Cetra." 

Cid leaned in to Cloud and slid his hand around his mouth, so as to keep Red from hearing what he had to say. "Did you just understand what he just said? Because, to me, it was just blah-blah-blah."

"As fun as 'Pick-on-Nanaki day' is, we do have a serious situation, here," Red said, very sternly. 

The three began walking back towards the camp. The darkness was beginning to surround them, but a fire had been built in the camp, and was a beacon guiding them to their destination. 

"Since Shinra fell apart not so long ago, funding for any historical pursuits, or anything else, really, dried up," Red began. "So, we at Cosmo Canyon were asked if we could help fund the research up here. It made sense to agree to do it, as we have a fascination with the planet, and by digging through the area, we hoped to learn more about the past.' 

'We received reports everyday about the progress. It didn't take long for there to be much progress, as they were already close to some big finds when they came to us. However, the reports stopped coming two days ago. It seemed very strange that we would hear no word from them about anything at all. So, a small group was sent out to find the reason for the lack of communication."

"You feared the worst?" Cloud asked.

"Actually, we were just worried that they took our money and ran off to the Gold Saucer," Red answered. "However, when we didn't hear from our two men at the camp, we began to get a little worried." 

"That's when he called me, like I got nothing better to be doing," Cid interrupted.

"Do you?" Red asked. 

"Well, no…An' if I did, I wouldn't be here now," Cid replied, taking a drag on his cigarette. "Just wanted to let you know that."

"Anyway," Red continued, "I contacted Cid and we flew out here. Honestly, I didn't know what on earth to expect, but, we found the bodies of all of our archaeologists." 

"What about your troops?" Cloud asked. 

"No sign of them. There are tracks leading into the forest, but I don't have much hope." 

"Why not? They're good fighters, right?" Cloud asked. 

Red stopped and sat on the ground. He looked up at Cloud. "Well, when we found the bodies of the archaeologists, none of them were cut. They were all burned or frozen." 

"So?" Cloud asked.

"So, it wasn't their blood that was used on the wall," Cid answered. 

"Blood?" Cloud asked.

Red walked ahead of them and went into the camp. He walked up to the wall and pulled down the blanket from its hooks. 

Cloud said nothing as he read the word "Strife" written across it. His features hardened, and he became angry. "Who could have done this?" 

"We thought that was all," Red said, ignoring the question. 

"Then, we searched the other walls," Cid finished, pulling down another blanket hiding more messages.

"Where mortals fear to tread, immortals walk freely," Cloud read loudly.

"What does it mean?" Cid asked. 

"The Lifestream…" Cloud whispered to himself. "…those bastards."

****

Wutai

"We all have monsters within. We all feel frustration, anger, even suffering from the past. If we didn't, we wouldn't be human. Anyone who says they don't feel such pain, simply aren't living." 

Wind Chimes were the only sound that could be heard within the dojo. Two men sat across from each other on the floor, legs crossed. Though they had been together for some time, the two could not have been more different. One was the leader of his country, and a man who could control the hidden creatures within. The other was a dark man from a dark dungeon who had no control of the creatures within.

"But, all humans do not lose control of their very bodies, their very souls." 

"They don't? Haven't you ever seen a grown woman cry? Haven't you ever seen a man punch another in anger? All humans lose control of their bodies from time to time. Sure, they may not be as destructive as you, but that does not mean that the animal within hasn't come out." 

"This is all fascinating, but how is it going to help me control my demons?" 

The older man, known to all around as the great Godo, let out a loud laugh. "Your 'demons' are not out of control, my friend Vincent. You are the one out of control." 

Vincent scratched his head. "How do you figure that?"

"Simple, my friend," Godo laughed. "Within you are monsters. Beasts. They kill. They destroy. They know what they are doing. It is you that does not know what your real nature is. You punish yourself for events that were destined to happen. You are arrogant enough to believe you could have changed things. We are all swimming down a stream, my friend, and you are just along for the ride."

The dark one let out a depressing sigh. "Maybe working with you, I will figure out my own destiny. My own nature."

"Perhaps. We will do all we can." 

A soldier walked into the room and stopped just beyond the door. He stood very erect, very careful. Quickly, and with a great deal of precision, he bowed down and back up. "I am very sorry to bother you, most high majesty, Godo."

"You are no bother, Staniv," Godo smiled. "What do you need?" 

Staniv eyed Vincent, and was reluctant to speak. 

"It is okay, Staniv. Vincent, here, is our friend."

"My lord, the troops are ready.

The materia has been mastered, distributed and and mastered again." 

"Very well," Godo smiled. "Begin operations." 

"Yes, my lord," Staniv replied with a quick bow. He turned and hurried off down the pogoda.

"Troops?" Vincent asked. 

Godo smiled. "It is nothing, really. An operation is all, do not concern yourself with it." 

"You're going to war with Eastern Continents, again, aren't you?" Vincent asked. 

The smile disappeared from Godo's face. 

"Do not worry," Vincent smiled. "I have no anger. You are doing nothing more than finishing off the Shinra. I believe you have the right for revenge." 

Godo's face lit up again. "Perhaps, you are healing faster than I thought," Godo said thoughtfully. "We should talk more." 

The two began talking again, unaware that a young woman had been, and was still watching them from the dark. Her heart filled both with pride and fear, as she worried for the two men in the room. "Are we doing the right thing?" Yuffie whispered to herself. 

More to come…


	3. Three against the planet

****

Chapter 3

--_Three against the world–_

****

Bone Village

The stars shined so brightly above. Always floating, always about, but never imposing. Their guidance in a dark world was a welcome sight to Cloud, as he lay his head back against a boulder. The nearby fire flickered with the passing of the chilly evening winds, and the weary rider sat back and enjoyed a moment that rarely ever came: Peace.

"How does it feel, Cloud?" Red's gruff voice echoed off the walls. "I mean, how does it feel to be here?"

Cloud looked across the fire to his furry friend. "What do you mean?"

"Well, Tifa told me what you said after you defeated Sephiroth," Red replied. "You must have been wanting to return here ever since then. I'm surprised you didn't set out immediately, in fact."

Cloud nodded slowly. "I've wanted to come here since the Lifestream gave me its answer. It's just thatWell, I"

"You've been worried about our other friend?" Cid said, finishing Cloud's sentence as he came walking back into the camp. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear you two talking."

"Yes," Cloud answered. "I've been concerned for Tifa, but, more than that, I've been hoping for an answer, or a message, maybe, from Aeris."

"From Aeris?" Cid asked. "What do you mean?"

Cloud shook his head and stood up. "It doesn't really matter. I never have had the time to come here until now. Now that I'm here, though, I'm going to find out if we can bring her back. If she wants to be brought back."

The three sat in awkward silence for a few minutes. Cid and Red knew and like Aeris, but none had been as close to her as Cloud. They tried never to push the subject of her death too far, for fear of hurting Cloud again.

"Ahem, umWell, uh, speaking of Tifa, I received a message onboard the Highwind from her," Cid said, finally breaking the silence. "Seems Barret, Cait Sith, and her are on their way to Rocket Town to meet with some former Shinra agents. The message was a little fuzzy, but, best I could make out, there's been some rumblings from Wutai, and they're helping out Reeve with the investigation."

"Good," Red answered. "I would like to know what's going on over there. I suggest that we not stay any longer here than necessary, though, as both our towns would be the first endangered, should any disturbances erupt."

"Agreed, I think," Cid said. "Besides, this place gives me the creeps."

"Where mortals fear tread, immortals walk freely," Cloud interrupted. "It's death, and life."

Red and Cid were shaken a little. Cloud hadn't said a word about the blood since they showed him the message. "Cloud?" Red asked. "What are you talking about?"

The ex-Soldier sat down and put his head in his hands. "I've heard it before. From Aeris."

"Aeris said that?" Cid asked.

"The night before we got to the City of the Ancients, Aeris and I sat by the fire, talking about old days," Cloud began. "Aeris mentioned something she once heard her mother said. She told her that when an Ancient dies, if ever you need their help, search where mortals fear tread, and immortals walk freely."

"What does it mean, though?" Red asked. "I've never read that saying in any texts."

"I didn't understand at the time," Cloud answered. "I tried to ask, but Aeris avoided the question, regretting having told me. I meant to ask her again later, but, well, later never came."

"So you don't know, then?" Cid asked. 

Cloud stood and walked over to the blanket, lifting it to see the blood again. "I didn't know. Not until the Lifestream spoke to me after I finished off Sephiroth."

"I'm curious," Red started, "how does the Lifestream communicate?"

"It's within your head," Cloud replied. "Aeris could hear the planet better than I. But, when I was within the Lifestream, I could make out voices. They said that the Promised Land was where one found life, where one found death, and where one could find resurrection."

"So, why would someone leave a message to you, in blood, about the Promised Land?" Cid asked.

"It's a challenge. Maybe from Sephiroth, or another unknown person. Whoever wrote it intends on finding me. Drawing me here, and using my passion for her for their own ends--"

The three warriors jumped up quickly, startled, and looked to the top ridge at the sound of clapping. There, a lone man with long brown hair and beige cloths hanging over his body sat on the back of a gold chocobo, clapping his hands together. "Finally, a mortal who can figure things out, for himself."

***

****

The Lifestream

Away in a place that some could argue never existed, stood a dreamland. A heaven, if one would allow. It was a dream, a place created from the thoughts of a person who once believed she would live forever.

A small pool received its water from a mighty waterfall in the distance, while all sorts of flora and foliage grew around the water's edge, and deep into the distance. This world was a canvass, and all in it had been painted in with the imagination of an Ancient. However, this paradise was more prison that heaven.

At the foot of the pool, a young woman wearing a light pink dress stepped in, leaving her boots and jacket at the shore. Holding her dress up with her left hand, the lady giggled at the tiny fish, nibbling at her legs as she walked along the muddy bottom. Her hair had been pulled up around her neck, and it had been quite a feat, as her hair had grow very long over her life. Various flowers, picked from the sides of the pool adorned her, as did some trinkets and jewelry, gifts from others. 

The Flower Girl stopped and looked out at the heavens above, and let out a sigh. Low clouds hung about the sky, providing shade, and shining their silver lining to the delight of the Girl.

It was perfect. Rather, it would have been perfect, were she alone. She looked over her shoulder at the two guards standing beyond the water's edge. They both wore the robes and medals of the Cetra Guard, the strongest of the Cetra armies that once roamed the planet.

The girl let out a long sigh, and turned to the guards. "You know, you don't have to be here. It's not as though I can up and leave anywhere."

One of the guards stepped forward and kneeled, putting his fist down to the ground, and keeping his head low. "I am most sorry, my lady, but it is the orders of Eirien, the great one."

"Why must you follow his orders?" The Flower Girl asked. "You are free to find your own heaven, here."

"My lady Aeris, you are most kind with your words, and you flatter us, but we vowed to follow Eirien to death, and beyond," the guard replied. "You will see, when you meet him, that he is truly the master of this side of the world."

Aeris shuddered a little. She had heard of Eiren from her mother long, long ago. She doubted any on the other side would know of him. She did not look forward to meeting him.

"It doesn't matter," Aeris answered back. "My friend will come and bring me back to him. Your Eiren is nothing compared to Cloud."

The guard looked up at Aeris, anger in his eyes. "My lady, I must ask for your forgiveness, but, because of your unkind words, I must take you from here."

Aeris looked at the soldier. "Where will you take me?"

"To moreplaces," the guard replied.

***

****

Bone Village

"I am known by many names," the brown-haired man on the gold chocobo said. "But my favorite is Eiren."

"Don't care what your #$&*#$ name is, you stupid #$^$!" Cid replied in his quaint way of talking. "You best get the hell outta here!"

"Now, now, Cid," Red said. "Don't chase off our guest too quickly. Eiren is an odd name, and I would like to learn a little more about him."

"A red demon dog?" Eiren whispered. "Thought you were all extinct."

"Well, you can see we aren't," Red replied. "Now, who are you?

"You two don't concern me at all," Eiren said harshly. "If you wish to live, you may leave, now. Strife is the only one I have need to speak with."

"Stuff it, you blowhard," Cid yelled. "Where Cloud goes, we go."

Eiren sighed loudly. "I can see you two will be a real pain. Ilan, if you would?"

Another soldier strolled up to the cliff's edge on Chocoboback. Holding up a green orb, he whispered a quick prayer, and the whistling noise of magic use was heard. 

Cid, Red, and Cloud looked at each other as nothing happened. Cid smiled broadly. He started to say something, but when his mouth opened, no voice came out. The Pilot turned to Red, who also found himself without voice. 

"What did you do to them?" Cloud yelled. 

"I'm surprised at you, Strife," Eiren laughed. "As much as you've used materia, you don't recognize silence'?"

Cloud drew his sword from its sheath. "A waste of time, really. These two don't need their voices to take care of you."

Eiren laughed gently. He raised his hand to the air and snapped his fingers. In an instant, the three fighters were surrounded by men on chocobos. Each wore the same outfit, brown and tan robes, with a gold medallion hanging around their chest. All were armed with a short sword at their sides, but, more importantly, each held a bag at their side holding a great number of materia orbs.

Two canines, looking very similar to Red walked up on either side of Eiren, looking over the edge and growling loudly. Saliva hung from their lips, as they bared their teeth. Red looked up at them with his mouth hanging open. They looked exactly like him, except much older, and bigger.

"Meet Saruka and Nasaku, former guardians of Cosmo Canyon," Eiren smiled, gesturing to the animals. "As you can see, my dear Strife, you're outgunned. There doesn't need to be any violence, though. Your friends can walk away without harm, if you wish."

Cloud looked at Cid. The Pilot, standing ready with his spear, was scanning the area around, trying to figure out who to hit first, should it come to it. Red was also ready, bent low to the ground, and snarling back at the two guardians above. Cloud was amazed. His friends were ready to fight, despite the odds.

With a chuckle, Cloud stepped forward. "It would be an insult to my friends to accept your offer. We've survived far worse situations."

"You have?" Eiren asked. "That is most odd. We've been watching your whole group for some time, now, and I don't recall you ever being so outgunned before."

Cloud didn't answer. He just stood looking into the eyes of his enemy. 

"Very well," Eiren finally said, annoyed with the events. "Kill the dog and the barbarian, but do not kill Strife."

Instantly, Saruka and Nasaku were on Red. The three rolled across the ground, fighting and biting savagely at each other. Four men jumped from the back of their chocobos at Cid, each with their sword raised in the air, while another stayed behind, raising barriers and regens on his allies. Three more attacked Cloud from behind, charging hard on their Chocobos with lances pointed at the soldier, while another stayed behind, readying a few red orbs for the fight.

Though Saruka and Nasaku were bigger, they weren't smarter than Red. Or as experienced. Red dodged each attack by the two dogs, causing them to run into each other, and keeping them placed between himself and the magic users above. When he could, he darted forward and sliced with his comb at the sides of the beasts.

Cid spun his spear around quickly, using the butt end to knock out the first attacker, hitting him square in the jaw. Another soldier charged in, screaming as loud as he could, and took two slices at Cid, who dodged each slice. If that had been the only attacker, it wouldn't have been a problem, but Cid's dodges put him right in line with the other attackers, who threw their blades down at him. Cid brought his spear up to block the attack, but the first blade went clean through the wooden shaft of the spear. Cid swung around with his fist, and sent it into the attacker's stomach, then brought the other fist down on top of his back, knocking him out on the ground.

Cloud turned and charged his opponents. Just as the lances of the riders were about to strike him, he leaped into the air, and brought Ultima Weapon down through the rider. Cloud rolled with the momentum and turned to look back, expecting to see a dead soldier. However, all Cloud saw was a quick flash of light as the barrier flickered away from Cloud's attack. "Damn," he whispered. 

Red dodged another attack, sliding under Saruka, and kicked hard with his hind legs, sending the dog on its side. He quickly turned and bit savagely into the dog's neck, but refrained from taking its life. Saruka was out. As was Nasaku from an earlier, well placed kick. Suddenly, Red's side began to feel very, very hot. The guardian let out a yelp and tried to face his opponent. The magic users began using the Materia. As the whistling sounds of the materia began flaring up, Red zig-zagged, trying to avoid the attacks, but every other lighting bolt or burst of fire singed him just a little more.

A black eye adorned Cid's face, now. He had a few other cuts and bruises, but he had held his own, and then some against his opponents. Like an old boxer, he kept taking hits and throwing more back at his opponents, who just kept coming at him. After knocking down the fifth guy, Cid put his hands down on his knees for a moment to try to catch his breath. That's when he heard the whistling noise of the materia. He looked up at the heavens, and, pouring from the now unfriendly starts, meteors began falling left and right, slamming into the ground. Red and Cid tried to dodge each attack, but so many meteors fell, it was impossible. Finally, the blitz stopped, giving Cid and Red a moment's respite.

"Surely, even you can see that you simply cannot defeat us all, Cloud," Eiren laughed. "Why don't you just give up."

Cloud pulled his sword from the dead body of the warrior and turned to Eiren, a grim look across his face. "Cid, Red, gather round," Cloud said, pulling a red orb from his pocket. "There is one orb Yuffie didn't get her hands on"

A red flash engulfed the three friends as they disappeared. The attackers looked quickly around, trying to find where the three went off to, but Eiren didn't budge. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. Slowly at first, then very violently. Each warrior lost their balance and fell as the ground gave way under them, and those on Chocoboback were swept off their mounts as the forest and camp around them blackened out. 

The soldiers screamed out as an enormous knight appeared from nowhere and sliced his sword through them all, cutting through their barriers and into their very skin. Just as he disappeared, another came from nowhere, staff spinning. Each soldier was beaten badly with the staff. Again, and again, another knight would come to replace the previous knight and hit the attackers with a blast of fire, a bolt of lighting, or another element. 

Despite the great amount of power from the attack, when the last knight vanished, and the world around reappeared, no soldier fell. All, save Eiren, were hurt, but none were too injured to continue.

Cloud, Red, and Cid returned, each surprised the enemy was still standing. Cloud looked up at the sound of hands clapping. "Excellent!" Eiren laughed. "I had not seen the Knights of the Round in Eons. I thought they were only a legend!"

Cloud clenched his jaw and stepped forward. "Your men are hurting. I will take them all down alone if I must. Leave, now, and never return, or I will kill you."

"My dear Strife," Eiren began, "If you kill me, you'll never learn of your sweet Aeris!"

A gasp escaped Cloud's lips. Red and Cid stood, open mouthed, looking at Eiren.

"Well, friends, I do say, tonight has been most entertaining," Eiren finally said. "It has been quite educational, too. Now, we know what to expect from the humans in terms of fighting. But, to all good things"

The Ancient snapped his fingers, and a soldier held up his green orb and began chanting. From the ground below, Cloud, Cid, and Red were thrown into the air, and slammed down hard on the ground, knocking all three out immediately. 

Eiren's face grew very cold. "Bring Strife with us. Dispose of the other two."

***

****

Rocket Town

The bright morning sunlight shined down the grassy streets of Rocket Town. The sunlight made its way down past the inn, past the weapons shop, and to a little cottage at the end of town, next to a now empty rocket launch pad. The wet grass gave off the early spring scents that brought out the birds their songs. 

The door opened at the little house, and a brown-haired woman in glasses stepped out, holding a cup of tea, and enjoying the nice morning air.

She reached down, picking up the morning paper that was printed by the old man across the street for the town. A smile spread across her face at the news. "Highwind still Busy: Local Pilot still saving world." 

Shera, as the town knew her, turned to go back in and read the paper, but she stopped suddenly, noticing a strange buzzing sound, much like the sound of the old twin bronco, flying in the distance. Shera stepped back out of the house and into the street, trying to look in the distance. The buzzing sound began to get louder. And multiply.

Dozens of little spots had formed in the skies above the horizon and were getting larger every second. One of Shera's neighbors stepped outside and looked up at the horizon. "That Cid?" he asked. "Never a dull moment when the Captain's coming home."

Shera shook her head. "No, that's not Cid. Those aren't rocket engines."

The dots took form and began to grow larger and larger. "ThoseThose look likeThe Highwind?" the neighbor laughed. "Has the ol' Captain made a fleet of those things?"

"Not that I know of," Shera answered. 

Suddenly, Shera and the neighbor fell to the ground, covering themselves as a bolt of lighting burst out of one of the ships in the distance and slammed into Cid's house, destroying it. "Run!" Shera yelled. "It's an attack!"

***

****

Niblehiem Mountains

"Come on, Barret! Just a little farther!" Tifa yelled, looking through her binoculars into the distance.

"I hate these damned things!" Barret yelled. "Why did Cloud have to spend so much time breeding them?"

"We really needed a gold chocobo, besides, these black ones are fairly calm."

"Jus' why couldn't we get someone to give us a ride?" Barret asked, finally pulling his chocobo up with Tifa. "I mean, I know the world's a little messy right now, but these stupid birds are driving me outta my mind."

The two turned as they heard Cait Sith's muffled scream from behind as he fell down the mountain. Again.

"Aw, damn, man," Barret grumbled. "I'm sick of carrying his sorry butt up here again and again."

"Well, you'll be thankful he's with us if we get attacked, Barret," Tifa said, turning to her old friend. "Do you think Cloud and them will meet us at Rocket Town?"

"Hell if I know" Barret spit, walking back down the path. "Where are we, anyways?"

"We're in the Niblehiem Mountains! Just a few miles outside of my old home!" Tifa yelled, smiling. "Hey, wait, Barret. What are those?"

The large man stopped and looked across the mountains. He slowly walked back to Tifa, took the binoculars and looked out at the strange objects in the sky not too far away. "Looks like the Highwind. Fore it got all tore up, that is. There are several of them."

"Doesn't it seem strange?" Tifa asked. "Cid never mentioned building more than one of those things."

"What was that?" Barret asked, as a bolt of lighting shot out from the lead ship. 

"I–I don't know. Maybe we better hurry up and get over there!"

"Yeah–I hope it isn't what I think it is," Barret said, his voice quivering a little.

***

****

?????

Pain. That was all Cloud could feel. His arms hurt, his legs hurt, his chest hurt. It felt like someone had broken every bone in his body. He couldn't even open his eyes. Consciousness became something the ex-soldier easily fell in and out of.

Every now and then, he could make out something someone was saying.

"Being taken backto ship"

"Lifestream too good for this."

"Why not just kill."

""

One of the last things Cloud could remember thinking was how he had let everyone down. They had survived so much together, then this one soldier took them all out. How could he let them all down? 

Then, Cloud felt warmth. The warmth surrounded him. He felt the hair all over his body sway back and forth, like it did when he flowed in the Lifestream. The wounds were not hurting so muchThe pain was leaving. 

"Am I dying?" Cloud thought he asked. 

"NoYou are only just now beginning to live," a voice responded. The female voice sounded very familiar.

***

So much more to come.


	4. Falling into War

**__**

Chapter 4

~ Falling into War ~

****

Outside Bone Village

"Heyhey Red," a whisper came from nearby, followed by a sharp pain from a thrown rock.. "Red, you okay?" 

The world slowly came back into focus as Red opened his eye. He lay on his side, every joint, muscle, and bone aching. It was still night, though the sky was beginning to hint at the upcoming morning. Ten yards away, several of the Cetra soldiers continued digging deep wholes into the ground, apparently graves for Red and Cid.

Another rock hit, harder.

"I'm awake, Cid," Red finally whispered, groggily. "Are we dead?"

"Not yet, mate," Cid whispered. "But if we don't get out of this, we will be. What can you do?"

Red started to move slightly, but realized he was tied up, bonds around his legs. Red raised his head a little and looked over to Cid. Cid had his back to the dog, with his arms and legs bound behind him.

"Hang on, Cid, if I move quietly, I may be able to get you free," Red whispered.

Trying not to make and sudden sounds, Red crunched his body together, weighted his feet down, and pushed away from the ground, pushing himself towards Cid. He looked up at the Cetra, but they continued to dig. They were talking noisily, and not paying the least bit of attention to "the barbarian and his pet."

Carefully, Red continued to slide back again and again until he finally felt Cid's hands against his back. "Cid, can you grab my clip?"

Cid began grabbing at Red's mane, accidentally pulling tufts of fur. As Red bit his tongue to keep from yelling, he noticed the Cetra finished digging and were beginning to come towards them. "Hurry, Cid!" he whispered.

Finally, Cid found the comb, pulled it painfully out of Red's mane and cut the rope free from his hands. Moving as quickly as he could, he cut the rope from his feet, as well as Red. He was spotted by the Cetra, but he didn't try to hide it, as it was too late.

"What the heck are they doing?" the captian yelled.

Red shot up from the ground, and charged straight at the men. Not fully understanding the power the dog possessed, the Cetra stood and stared like a chocobo caught in the headlights of a train as Red sprang right into the pack. 

Cutting through the armor, Red sunk his teeth into the first soldier, and whipped him around, taking out two other soldiers.

The other soldiers charged at him, swords raised, but Red jumped away from their attacks and darted away. He ran as fast as he could towards the Highwind, which Cid had already started up.

Red was ten feet from the Highwind when a bolt of lightning shot through him, slamming him down to the ground. With a loud yelp, Red rolled over to his back in agony.

The soldiers charged at Red, holding out their materia, and deciding which to hit him with next. They never got the chance.

The Highwind turned on its axis and opened fire with its front cannons Cid had recently installed. The bodies of the Cetra shredded and fell to the ground.

Red staggered to his feet and ran into the Highwind.

"MyMy thanks, Cid," Red panted.

"Do we go after Cloud?" Cid asked.

"I think it's likely too late,' Red replied. "Wherever they're taking him, they're already there, and we're too late."

"Where do we go, then?" Cid asked, pushing the ship forward and around.

"Rocket Town," Red replied. "We'll meet up with Barret and Tifa."

"Tifa ain't gonna like what she hears," Cid said.

"I know," Red answered. "Let's hope she doesn't take it out on the messengers."  


***

****

Lifestream

"No!" the little girl cried. "Mother, please! Please don't die!"

The dark train station of the Section 7 slums in Midgar surrounded the little girl and the body of her mother. Blood stained the concrete. Rats waited behind the train, ready to charge in to the body. 

A brown haired lady lay on her back, holding the hand of her daughter, tears coming from her eyes. She was dying, but she didn't fear anything. "Aeris," she said, staring through the little girl. "You mustyou must be brave, love."

"Momma," Aeris cried. "You–you just can't die, again! I lost you once, I can't lose you again!"

Aeris's mother's gaze turned away from Aeris, to a man in tan robes walking towards them. Her eyes widened, and her arm fell. Her soul left for the planet.

"Amazing, isn't it?" the man walking to the little girl asked. "It's so real. You really feel you're here, don't you."

"Shut up!" the little girl yelled. "Go away!"

"Now, now, my sweet Aeris," the man clamly said as he kneeled down to her, taking her hand in his own. "Remember, this isn't real. You were brought to the land of bad memories because you disrespected me. My guards couldn't let you get away with it. But, I forgive you."

Aeris looked up to him. She stood up and took a few steps back. "YouYou're him, aren't you?"

"Him?" he asked. "Well, let me introduce myself: I am Eiren. Once I was the King of all lands. Now, I simply rule the Lifestream. But, that will change. Soon, I will rule both sides of Life. The Planet and the Lifestream will be mine."

Aeris looked back down to her mom. "It–It's not real. She died long ago." The girl looked down at her body and her clothes. "This–This isn't me. I don't look like this anymore."

"That's right," Eiren responded. "You're beginning to understand. This is a place that many like to refer to as hell.' This is where dark souls go to rest for eternity. Your worst memories are here for you to live over and over again. You'll stay here until I know you can respect me."

Aeris looked up at the Cetra commander. "Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

Eiren let out a little laugh. "I'd like to say it is because of your power. I, myself could not manipulate the lifestream like you did a few months back. I could use that power. But, I guess it is more simple than that, Aeris. I guess, I'm in love with you."

Aeris laughed. "You? Why?"

Eiren took in a deep breath. "You are very pretty. You have great power. You are worthy of being Queen of the Planet."

Eiren turned to the little girl to see her response, which he was sure would be very happy, but she wasn't even paying attention to him. "What?" he asked. "What is it?"

"HHe's here," she said to herself with a smile. "He's here, isn't he?"

Anger spread across Eiren's face, knowing who "he" was. He raised his hand, and the memory around him came to life again. Aeris lost her mind, and suddenly began to weep. "Mother, no!" she screamed, running to the dead body.

Eiren turned and stormed off into the distance, angry and frustrated.

***

**Rocket Town**

Rockets soared through the air, followed by magic spells shooting ice, fire, winds, even Ultimate Spells. The destruction was devastating. House after house blew up, bodies flew through the air as the mighty Highwind class ships soared over the town.

"We have to hurry, while people are still alive!" Tifa screamed, holding on tightly to the charging Chocobo. 

"Damn!" Barret yelled, riding on his chocobo closely behind Tifa. "They not even putting up a defense!"

"It was a surprise attack!" Cait Sith screamed, running alongside Barret's Chocobo. "The people weren't ready!"

Suddenly, an explosion blew out on one of the Highwind class ships. An electric bolt shot up from the city, followed by gunfire. The explosion barely did any damage, but it brought hopes to Tifa that maybe someone was fighting back, finally.

The trio charged into the city, not saying a word. Barret raised his gun-arm and began firing volleys back at the ships, which continued to rain down destruction on the helpless citizens below.

"What are they?" Tifa pleaded, jumping off her Chocobo. 

Cait Sith came to a stop and looked carefully at the ships above. "I don't know, but I'm betting they came from Wutai, since they're still pointed East.

"Damn! We don't need another war!" Barret yelled. "We jes' got outta one!"

Finally, the rockets stopped raining down on the city. Just as people began to poke their heads out of the wreckage, the sky filled with parachutes. The soldiers were jumping down.

"There's too many of them!" Tifa cried. "We three can't stop them all."

"Our agents should be here!" Cait Sith yelled. They can help us!"

Barret shot out blasts at the charging soldiers, but the soldiers had barriers up and the shots weren't doing much damage. The first soldier reached them, and charged in, katana raised. He brought the sword down at Tifa with a powerful slice.

Tifa side-stepped the attack and used the momentum to bring her fist around and into the enemy's face. The man fell instantly, shocked at the power of the punch. "Glass jaw," Tifa said to herself.

Suddenly, the trio were surrounded, fighting on all sides. Barret shot off blasts, but it was ineffective. Tifa had to make up for the slack, and she fought better than ever before. 

Her fists cut through the armor, sending the soldiers flying in one blow, and she moved with precision that defied belief. However, she was tiring. Fast.

"Barret, isn't there anything we can do to slow them down?" Tifa yelled.

"Notta thing!" Barret yelled, continuing his assault. 

Just as the two began to fall back, they were knocked to the ground by a sudden explosion. The shockwave knocked everything within 100 feet off their feet, and singed Tifa and Barret.

"The hell was that?" Barret asked, looking over at Tifa, who was holding her ears. A Trickle of blood flowed out. 

"What?" Tifa yelled. "Where's Cait Sith?"

Barret looked back. All that was left of the toy were two big white feet standing on the ground. The rest of the toy had blown up.

Barret and Tifa slowly stood up, surrounded by angry Wutai soldiers.

"Do you surrender?" the commander asked.

A shot rang out, causing everyone to jerk suddenly in fear. Tifa's eyes widened as blood leaked out from the commander's mouth. The lifeless body fell to the ground.

"Sorry, boys," a man said from a nearby burning house. He wore a messy business suit with no tie, and had long red hair. A cigarette dangled from his lips, and he held a wand over his shoulder. A blond haired woman wearing a very neatly pressed suit, and a black man, holding up the gun that just killed the commander stood nearby. "These guys are under our protection!"

The Wutai soldiers looked at each other in disgust. "Turks," one of the spoke up. "Kill them!" another yelled. Suddenly, the crowd charged in at Tifa and Barret, while many others charged the Turks.

Rude, the black man, and Elena, the blond woman opened fire, but the shots had the same effect of Barret's attacks. Reno pointed his wand in front of the charging enemies and let out an electric burst. The bolt shot into the ground and blew up, sending the first row of attackers flying in all directions.

"Great! Now we fightin' wit' the Turks!" Barret yelled. "Maybe we are on the wrong side!"

"It doesn't matter!" Tifa replied, as she sent her fist into an attacker's gut. "These guys are trying to kill us!"

Barret took a hit in his stomach. Another hit from a stick came across his head. Bleary eyed, he started firing all around, trying to hit anything that moved. 

Tifa ducked, avoiding the shots. "Watch it! I'm not protected!"

"Sorry, Tif," Barret yelled. "This isn't working!"

Tifa looked over at the Turks, who were fighting hand to hand, now. They weren't doing too bad, but they were too heavily outnumbered. "Barret! We have to fall back! Can you clear a path?" 

"What way?" Barret yelled, holding his gun-arm out.

"To your right!" Tifa yelled.

Barret concentrated carefully. He let the energy within his weapon build up steadily, taking some hard hits while he waited. Finally, the gun, energy at maximum, was ready. "Hold on, Tifa!" he yelled. The shot blasted through the crowd, sending more bodies flying and ripping the ground with the intense heat of the blast.

Tifa was up immediately, charging through the opening with several soldiers chasing her. She jumped up, kicking an oncoming soldier and sending him into a nearby building. The waitress opened the door to the nearby truck she was trying to get into and jumped in. She started it and turned it towards the attackers. The Wutai soldiers jumped out of the way as she drove full speed at them. 

Sliding to a halt right, Tifa spun the truck around. Barret jumped in the back, and the truck sped off, slamming several soldiers out of the way. 

The truck plowed through more soldiers and stopped right in front of the Turks. Each of the three, shocked that Tifa had come for them, looked at each other, then jumped in.

"Hold on!" Tifa yelled, and put the car in 1st gear and charged off, driving out of town.

"Well, that went well!" Elena yelled from the back. "We not only gave up the city, but we had to be rescued."

"Pipe down," Reno said from the front seat. "Their will be another battle."

Barret slumped down next to the cab of the truck, the wind whipping around him. "Damn. Now we allies with these guys? I can't believe this is all happening."

***

**The Highwind Class ship, Yoshimara**

"There they go," Yuffie said, rather sadly.

Vincent walked up next to her, looking over the side of the lower deck. "You knew we would encounter the rest of Avalanche," he said. "Why so sad?"

"Just, when I fight against them, I feel like maybe I'm on the wrong side of things," Yuffie responed. "Maybe were not doing things right."

Vincent let out a deep breath. "I don't know. We weren't just fighting Tifa and Barret. We also fought the Turks. Maybe we're on the right side, and they're on the wrong?"

"Maybe," Yuffie answered. "I want Wutai to return to GloryI just thoughtI didn't want to see"

"You didn't want to see it this way?" Vincent finished.

Yuffie looked up at the tall man. "If I knew we were going to destroy towns and cities, I don't know that I would have stolen that materia."

Vincent smiled. "What's in the past is in the past. It's what happens in the future that counts."

Yuffie looked back down at the burning village below as Wutai soldiers rounded up citizens and began putting out the fires that raged through the town. "I just hope we know what we're doing."

***

Next: Cloud.


	5. Old Friends, Unborn Allies

**__**

Chapter 5

~ Old Friends, Unborn Allies ~

Cloud felt himself floating in water. No, wait. It wasn't water. He could feel air, flowing around him, with a soft, stable ground behind him. He dared open his eyes, fearful of what he would see. 

When he opened his eyes, he had to blink quickly. The bright sun blinded him, as large white clouds blew over on a late Spring day. He sat up, looking over the field, and seeing Nibleheim in the distance, across the plains.

The tall grass swayed with the strong winds, and the smell of the ocean was strong in the air. 

Cloud stood up and looked over his shoulder, noticing, for the first time, a very familiar dark haired woman walking toward him. She smiled, as she walked confidently towards him in her tight black mini-skirt and white top. The wind blew her hair around her and in her face.

"Tifa?" Cloud asked, a smile across his lips. "Are we home?"

Suddenly, she vanished.

Cloud looked up and around, trying to see if anyone else was around. As he turned, everything around him suddenly changed in the blink of an eye. Enormous crystal structures surrounded him, and a clear, glass stairway wound its way back to the top of the deep canyon. 

The soldier turned and ran up the stairs. Kneeling before him was the beautiful friend he lost so long ago. He had seen this before. He knew what was next.

"Not again," Cloud whispered. He pulled his sword out and charged forward, leaping to the air. 

The white-haired man fell from the heavens as before, but this time, Cloud met him in mid-air. Cloud screamed and let a mighty swing go. The sword passed right through Sephiroth, though, and Cloud, himself fell over the edge of the platform. Behind him, Sephiroth's sword sliced through Aeris yet again, as it had so many times in Cloud's dreams.

Cloud closed his eyes as he was about to land in the water below, but instead of splashing gently, he landed with a thud on metal grating. 

The soldier looked up and realized where he was. The top of the pillar was about to collapse, bringing down the top section of Sector 7 down into the slums. Tifa, Barret, and another Cloud battled Reno ahead, while Jessie, Biggs, and Wedge lay dying on the stairs behind.

Cloud stood up and walked over to where Jessie lay as the life swelled out of her. A loud explosion sounded out above and the helicopter flew off, as Barret, Tifa, and the other Cloud swung off to the middle of the city, barely escaping the collapsing section.

"I'm so sorry, Jessie," Cloud whispered. "I wish we could have at least grabbed you."

The section fell through them, and Cloud found himself surrounded by blackness.

"Why the sorrow?" a voice came out from behind. "We're not sorry."

Cloud turned to see the three smiling faces behind him.

"Biggs, Wedge, Jessie?" Cloud smiled. "Are you really here, or am I imagining you?"

"Nopeunfortunately, we're here," Biggs said.

"It's so good to see you!" Jessie smiled, running up and hugging Cloud. "We heard about all you guys did on the Planet! It was amazing! Especially when you took on Sephiroth on your own!"

"Yeah!" Wedge laughed. "If we'd known back in Midgar that you were gonna do that, I never would have been able to speak to you!"  
"What?" Cloud asked.

"N–Nothing. I'm sorry, I'm just confused, or something."

"Yuck. It's so bland, here, Cloud," Biggs said. "I think I liked your other place, better. The one with the field. Bring it back."

"H–how do I do that?" Cloud asked.

"Simple," Jessie laughed. "Think about it."

Cloud closed his eyes for a second, and suddenly felt a wind blow across his face. He opened his eyes, and the group was surrounded by crops again. 

"Niblehiem, right?" Wedge asked, smelling the air. "Tifa used to tell me all about it. Never thought I would see it, though."

Cloud looked up. "H–how did you guys get here?"

"It's pretty complicated," Jessie said, taking Cloud's hand in her own and rubbing his palm. "Basically, you let us, and we wanted to, so we ended up here. We tried to help you last time you were in the Lifestream, but you wouldn't let us in."

"What do you mean?" Cloud asked. "If I had known, I would have–"

"Your subconscious controls most everything here. It knows who to let in and out. Don't worry, though, we're not offended or anything," Wedge laughed.

"H–How do I findher?" Cloud asked, quietly.

"Who?" Jessie asked, trying to look Cloud in the eyes.

"A–Aeris," Cloud answered. 

"The ancient?" Biggs asked. "Good luck. She's on the other side of battle lines."

"Battle lines?" Cloud asked.

"Again, it's pretty complicated," Jessie answered. "We'll let your guide show you that when he gets here, but, what I can tell you, is we're at war with the Cetra on this side."

"An' Aerisher being an ancient an' allYou may want to forget about her. Rumor has it Eiren wants her to himself," Wedge said.

"Eiren? You mean that guy who attacked us?" Cloud asked.

"Attacked you?" Jessie asked, holding her hand over her mouth and looking to the other two. "Good gracious, he did it! He was able to cut the line to the other side!"

"We better get back and tell the Captains," Wedge replied.

"What? What's going on!" Cloud asked.

"I'm sorry, Cloud, but we could only stay a short while on leave. We have to get back, now. Don't worry, your guide will be along again soon."

"Wait! I want to come with you!" Cloud yelled. It was too late, though. They had already disappeared.

"Typical," a voice laughed from atop a hill behind Cloud. "They always leave you hanging!"

***

Aeris felt herself being dragged by her arms across carpeting. She was barely conscious. Her hair stuck to her face, and hung low, dripping with sweat. Her clothes were soaked, and she felt completely spent.

"Man, this lady, she really smells something bad!" one of the guards said to the other. "What has she been in?"

"The deep darks of the Lifestream. The place of Nightmares, mate. She's sweating from the torture it caused her. Don't ever screw up, or Eiren will throw you down there, too."

"Bloody hell."

The guards dragged her body into the main throne room and threw her down on the floor. Aeris breathed heavily, letting the cool air dry her sweaty skin. She could hear mumbling all around her, as it seemed people were crowding around, but keeping their distance.

"Arise," a deep voice that sounded now familiar spoke out. "My fair Aeris, I grant you a brief clemency. Please, wake up."

Aeris summoned all her strength to her arms and pulled herself up to her knees. She then sat back, and let her arms hang at her sides. Before her, the man who visited her in the Slums sat, draped in purple robes and gold, guards standing all around, ready to attack, if the need arised.

"Yes, yes, gather around, all. Come see the mighty Ancient that helped to kill Sephiroth, destroy the Meteor, and will soon be my wife," Eiren said, holding his hand out to the lady. "Please, gentlemen, why don't you find our lovely lady a moreproper dress."

The guards ran in and took Aeris's dress off, leaving her in her undergarments, and quickly put more elaborate robes over her. They were pink and red, adorned with gems and gold. 

"This will suit you until we can properly clean you up," Eiren said.

Tears formed at the edges of Aeris's eyes. She felt what little dignity she had left was now gone.

"Tell me, my dear Princess, how do you like our grand castle? It is a complete duplicate of the one that existed on the planet during my reign, over three-hundred years ago. When I ruled over the world, this castle was the very symbol of Power. Now, I will use it to rule over all beings, alive and dead!"

"You don't even know what real power is," Aeris muttered defiantly.

"I beg your pardon?" Eiren asked.

"I said, you don't even know what real power is!" Aeris yelled. 

"And you do?" Eiren chuckled. 

"Of course," Aeris giggled, weariness beginning to overtake her. "Cloud has more power than you'll ever have!"

"Strife?" Eiren laughed. "I destroyed him. He is now lost in the Lifestream, unable to help you, his friends, or even himself."

Aeris laughed. "He has more friends than you know of. Even as you speak, they are searching him out, and trying to find him to aide them in their battle against you."

"And I will destroy his soul, as I did his body," Eiren yelled, anger showing in his eyes. "He has no power! He will never have more than me!"

"Of course he does, silly," Aeris laughed. "He has the one thing you'll never have, yet want so desperately: My heart."

"Perhaps one day in the darkest parts of the Lifestream wasn't enough for you. Guards! Take her again. Do not bring her out until I say so!"

As Aeris was dragged away, she could hear the crowd began to mumble to each other again. "Such insolence!"

"How dare she?"

"see he loves her? Doesn'tknow honor of it?"

A smile spread across her lips again. One voice in particular stood out in her mind. She remembered it quite clearly later on: "She must really love this Strife fellow."

***

"That's the way this army works, of course! They always run off this way or that!" the young girl yelled from the hill. Her hair was bright and shiny in the sunlight, and it was incredibly long. She wore a blue dress that flowed in the wind, but she also had on a little armor, and carried a small, but long, sword from her belt.

From the distance, she sort of looked like "Aeris?" Cloud asked himself. 

The young woman laughed as she moved in closer. "No, not hardly, Soldier. The name's Ifalna."

"Ifalna?" Cloud asked.

"Yeah, well, I was named after my grandmother," the girl smiled.

Her bright green eyes were wide and shined with the energy that Aeris's did. It was so easy to see why Cloud thought she was Aeris. She moved much like her, and had so much energy. She smiled the same, and had dark green eyes.

"Nice place ya got here, Cloud," Ifalna said. "Nibleheim, right?"

"Do I know you?" Cloud asked. "Are you my guide?"

"No, and no," she answered, walking past him to look out at the ocean. "But I know you, and that's all that's important. Your guide will be here soon. The sooner, the better, because if we wait too long, the Cetra will find you."

"Is that so bad?" Cloud asked.

"Yes. They fear you. They want you destroyed."

The woman smiled, turned, and held up a couple of apples. "Are you hungry? You're still in a body, so I imagine that you must be."

Cloud looked down at his body. "I thought I was–"

"Dead?" Ifalna finished. "Not hardly. The Cetra, specifically Eiren, threw you into the lifestream, hoping another dose would permanently scramble your brains. Then, they could come in and destroy you, body and soul."

"Why not just kill me there?" Cloud asked.

"Because, then you would be able to travel freely through the Lifestream. You could fight with the human army and possibly shift the war to our side. However, they didn't know that you had mastered your own mind last time you were here. With you alive and in the lifestream, they could simply hunt you down and kill you, then destroy your soul before it could fully integrate with the lifestream."

"What is this war? I don't understand," Cloud asked, biting the apple.

Ifalna smiled. "It's all pretty complicated. Basically, Eiren wants it all. The living side, the Lifestream, everything. He has once again convinced the Ancients to destroy the humans, and, now that he found a way back to the world of the living, he has decided to take his war there, at the right time."

"Who is this Eiren, exactly? I've never heard of him."

Ifalna laughed.

"Did I say something funny?"

"No, noIt's just thatwhen I grow up, all we will study in school is Sephiroth, Meteor, and Eiren. It's so funny that you don't know who he is."

"When you grow up?"

"Oh, yeahI'm a joined' soul. I haven't been born, yet."

"Wow," Cloud said, taken aback.

"Anyway, Eiren once ruled over the Planet. He was noble, at first. He ruled well. Then, he became corrupted, and began the great Purges. He wiped out all that stood in his way. A noble warrior and a few followers were able to fight their way through it all, destroying Eiren, and returning peace to the world.

"Eiren's daughter and the soldier married, eventually, and ruled over certain kingdoms. Even in death, though, Eiren could communicate with the soldier, warning him that humans would be destroyed by him and the Cetra, one day.

"Ever since, Eiren has searched for a way to come back to the Planet and rule over it all again."

"What about the soldier? Why doesn't he destroy Eiren again?"

"Well, the soldier re-integrated back into the living world as another soul, not realizing Eiren would find his way back to power. That soul joined with other souls to createwell, you."

"Me?"

"Uh-huh. Oh, and I almost forgot. That soldier's name: Strife. 

"Weird as it is, part of you is your own ancestor from hundreds and hundreds of years ago."

"Whoa," Cloud whispered to himself.

"So, anyway, best we can figure, Eiren's looking to take you out, defeat the human souls on this side, then, when the time is right, attack the Planet from the lifestream."

"So, how do I take him out, then?" Cloud asked.

"You can't. Not here, anyway. We have to get you back to the Planet. You and someone else."

"Who?"

"A certain girl who's destined to destroy Eiren once and for all. Someone who is already calling for you."

"Aeris," Cloud said, tightening his fist. "I'm coming for you."

"We have to hurry, though. If Eiren tires of her, or if he decides it's too risky holding on to her, he may try to destroy her soul."

"Am I late?" a familiar voice asked.

Ifalna turned and ran to the man, giving him a hug. "Nope! Right on time, Zack!"

***

"My lord, the war has begun," the messenger said, head low, fist on the floor. He was in the main chamber hall of the Ancient's Castle in the Lifestream. "Wutai has occupied Rocket Town. We believe they are headed for Nibleheim, next."

"Excellent," Eiren smiled. "We let the fools destroy themselves, then we move in for the kill. The planet will belong to the Cetra again!"

"And what of the Lifestream, sire?" one of the Cetra warriors asked. "We are fighting hard, but we haven't made any great advances on the Human Front, here. They are fighting bravely."

"Nothing to worry about. There is only one way they can win. We all know this."

"Then why do you not destroy her?" the man said, more harshly. 

"I should watch my tone, were I you, Aaron," Eiren said. "As it is, I do not destroy Aeris because I do not believe in destroying our own kind. But, if she doesn't come around, I may be forced to do so."

"And what of Strife?" Aaron asked. "We're searching, but he isto find."

"Do not concern yourself over Strife. He is not strong enough anymore to defeat me. And I willhim find his way here. When I destroy him in front of her, Aeris will have no choice but to fall in love with me."

"Why do you care for such aninsignificant woman?" Aaron asked.

Eiren let out a sigh. "I just don't know, honestlyMaybe I'm getting soft in my old age," Eiren laughed. 


	6. Falling Down

**_Chapter 6_**

**_~ Falling Down ~_**

**Nibleheim**

The fire crackled, sending sparks flying into the air. The stars were so bright this far out, Tifa remembered. It was so good to be back in this part of the world. That was the problem with Midgar, was too much pollution, and too many lights. Out here, not too far from Nibleheim, she could look up to the stars, and they seemed to almost look back down.

Barret's snoring roared through the camp, and Tifa smiled as she looked around at her companions around her. The five of them: Reno, Rude, and Elena of the Turks, Barret, and herself all huddled inside their napsaks, trying to stay warm around the fire. It was finally peaceful, here. The Turks and Barret had argued all night long about what had happened back there.

Tifa looked into the fire. "_Cloud? Do you remember Nibleheim, five years ago?"_

_"Yeah…Why?"_

_"It's just that…Well, no, never mind…forget I brought it up…"_

"Oh, Cloud," she whispered. "Where are you? We're just not as strong without you, are we?"

"Still going on about the spikey-haired freak, huh?" Reno asked, walking up behind her.

"Shut up…He's not a freak," Tifa scowled.

"No, sis, I know freaks…" Reno laughed. "And he is definitely a freak."

"Yeah, well, you're really one to talk," Tifa said under her voice.

"We're headed down to Cosmo Canyon tomorrow," Reno said. "We've been hired to help them defend themselves. You and the blowhard can join us…"

"His name is Barret," Tifa said. "And if you insist on calling us names, I won't talk with you anymore."

Reno slid his hair back on his head, as if in thought. "I'm sorry…Tifa," he said at last. "You and Barret are welcome to join us. Better?"

"Hardly," Tifa answered. "Why are you up?"

"Dunno," Reno answered. "Can't sleep after a battle. Jus' keeps going over and over in my mind. Guess you could say I'm worried about our next battle, too."

Tifa looked at him, then down to the ground, sadly. "I know what you mean. It was easy to hate the Shinra. We knew beating them was a good thing, but it's a little harder to hate Wutai."

"What's so hard about it? Were you there, back there? They blew Rocket Town to kingdom come…"

"I know, I know…" Tifa said, sadly. "I just can't help but feel…somehow…"

"Responsible?" Reno asked.

Tifa looked at Reno in surprise, but he continued to stare into the fire.

"Maybe you should get some sleep. It'll be an early day, tomorrow."

Tifa nodded and pulled her napsack back over her, and closed her eyes. She turned and looked up to the stars. "Cloud…please, please hurry back."

***

**Somewhere near Occupied Rocket Town**

"Could ya keep your blasted' tail outta sight?" Cid whispered harshly. "You wanna jus' tell ever'one 'lookey-here! It's Cid an' Red!"

"I can't just put it out," Red replied, tucking his tail under him, trying to keep it hidden. "And if they're going to see anything, it'll be you, and your cigarette!"

Cid looked down at the red ember glowing in the dark night sky. "Oh, damn. Forgot I had that." He quickly threw it down, and continued on his way.

"It looks like it was hit pretty bad, Cid," Red said, looking hard into the town. 

"I jus' wanna find out who ripped off my designs!" Cid barked, pointing up to the Highwind ships above. "An' I wanna get back to my people, there. They don't have their Captain, and the whole town's in the middle of a crises."

"Noble as you are, we can't just run in," Red said. "Those guys know us…They'll capture us as soon as we charge in."

"I know that you $%^," Cid replied. "At the least, I need to find out if Shera's alright."

Red turned and looked up at Cid. 

"You smiling at me?" Cid asked. "I don't love her or anythin', don't get me wrong…I just…owe her…that's all."

"I'm sure," Red said, turning back to the city. "And I didn't smile. I don't have lips like you."

"Well, stay or go, we need to do something, or they'll find MY Highwind," Cid sighed. "You're the smart one, what do we do?"

Red thought for a moment. "The smart thing to do is to get back on the ship and head back to Kalm for reinforcements. However, the smart thing rarely works when we're together, so let's sneak into town and see what's there."

"I like the way you think, dog," Cid smiled, lighting up a cigarette.

"My name's Nanaki, or Red…And put that out!" Red barked.

"Oh, sorry…I smoke when I'm nervous."

"The only other time you smoke is when you're NOT nervous," Red snapped. "Let's go."

The two edged their way along the hills, out of sight, made their way past the guards–well, through a couple of guards, and snuck into the north side of town, winding around the hoses still left in town after the Rocket took off.

They came around to what was left of the picket fence surrounding what was left of Cid's house. "Damn, man…the whole town got hit, hard."

"Yes, looks like a lot of people were hurt…" Red replied.

"Didn't we even get any barriers up, or anything? I mean, why do we even have that damned materia shop if no one uses it?"

"Seems it was a surprise attack," Red replied. "Still, you're right…We should never have been caught so off-guard."

"Look," Cid said, pointing to the ruins by the old Inn. "Looks like a little prison camp over there. Let's see if we can't work our way down there."

Cid moved around the fence, and after each guard walked by, quickly jumped from house to house, after climbing up on the roof. Red quickly followed, and they stopped at the edge, looking out at the camp.

"Seems most everyone's there…" Cid said. "There! I see her! I see Shera."

Red looked out. "I think the only ones not there are in Cosmo Canyon, right now…but I don't know your town as well as you."

"They targeted houses, only. No one was supposed to be hurt at all," Vincent said from behind them.

"Well, that's good, Vincent…A calm war, just what we–"

Red and Cid turned around, and, standing in the moonlight on top of the house was their old friend. His cape and hair waved in the air, while the moonlight gleamed off his golden claw. It was a scarey sight, indeed.

"What are you doing here?" Red asked, tail flicking with delight.

"I am with them," Vincent said.

"Them?" Cid asked. "What are you doing with Wutai? You're one of us! Avalanche to the end, remember?"

"You don't understand," Vincent replied. 

"Don't understand what?" Red asked. "You're with an army that attacked and invaded your best friend's home town. People could have been killed!"

"But they weren't," Vincent replied.

"Next time you may not be so lucky," Cid growled, his face starting to turn red. He stood up and pulled his sleeve up. 

"I wouldn't do anything…foolish…Cid," Vincent said. "One yell, and the entire Wutai army is aiming for you."

"Then what are you doing? Why is Wutai attacking?" Red asked.

"I'm here to give you this…" Vincent said, throwing a small sack to the other two. Cid held it up and looked inside.

"Hey, this is most of our materia!" Cid said. 

"It's been mastered, remastered, and distributed," Vincent said. "That was what I could sneak from Yuffie when she wasn't around. 

"As far as Wutai, they are attacking for several reasons. Most you should know."

"Revenge?" Red asked.

"Yes, some," Vincent answered. "They are also doing it to strengthen their position."

"Strengthen?" Cid asked. "From who? No one in the world could take them out in Wutai."

"There is…another…army coming," Vincent said, looking out into the street.

"Another army?" Red asked.

"I cannot explain, now. The guards are moving around. You should go if you don't want to be caught."

"Um, thanks…I think,' Red said. "We'll go, now."

Cid walked up to Vincent and looked him in the eye. "Don't let me run inta you next time we fight the Wutai."

Vincent said nothing. He turned and leaped to the next rooftop. He then disappeared into the darkness.

"Regardless of who he's with, he still seems to be wanting to help us…Maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt?" Red asked.

"Hey, you're the thinking one…I just protect my town. Right now, I'm mad."

"It won't do any good to go after him, even with the materia. We should go…Get out of here."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Cid said at long last after looking out at the prison camp again. "Sher–I mean, the town seems to be taken care of. We should go to Nibleheim or Cosmo Canyon."

"I agree. Quickly, now…"

***

**Lifestream, Behind the Human Lines**

Cloud stood at the edge of the mountain and took in the sight before him. He had never, in all his travels through the Planet, seen a place as beautiful as this. Mighty rivers zipped through grand forests, while great mountains rose in the distance behind some free plains. There was such a magical energy flowing from the land, that Cloud felt…Peace.

"She's a beaut, isn't she, Strife?" Zack asked. "You'll have a place this nice someday. I jus' had some time to work on mine."

Cloud looked to Zack. "Listen…about what happened outside Midgar, and…if you're upset about me taking your personality for a while–"

"Think nothing of it," Zack laughed, putting his hand on his hip. "Always knew you wanted to be just like me…didn't realize you'd go so far!"

Cloud let out a laugh. He had to. It felt so good to be so free. Something else was moving in on his soul. He could feel…her. It made him feel great. Cloud looked over his shoulder as Ifalna came huffing and puffing her way up. "I said…wait up…"

"I'd have thought you'd be in better shape," Zack laughed. "If I always waited up for you, I'd never get anywhere!"

"I'll make you eat your own fist," Ifalna said, holding up her own fist.

"So, this is your own place?" Cloud asked. "And we all get our own?"

"Of course," Zack said. "Each and every one of us…at least until we wish to go back and help create another creature.

"So…what are the front lines?" Cloud asked.

Zack turned and started to walk down the mountain side towards the river with Cloud quickly following.

"The Neatherlands…The other realm…" Zack said. "There is a place we all share…A common vision that we must have for this place to be stable."

"So…Why not just stay here, if the Cetra are warring on you?"

"Because, once they get through there, they will come in and invade our own heavens. They've already gotten into some of the new arrivals'. That's why we had to find you and get you out, fast. We were really lucky."

"Where are we going, then?" 

Zack smiled. "We have to get someone…Someone very important to you. She still has a destiny to follow…as do you."

"A destiny? What do you mean? Where do you guys get these destinies?"

Ifalna laughed. "We can't tell you that…You shouldn't know all the nice little secrets of the afterlife before you even die."

Zack stopped when he got to the river. "We have to get you across the lines, though. We have to get her, and get her out of that castle, then get you both back to the planet."

"You'll help?" Cloud asked.

"We can get you to the castle. The rest will be up to you."

"What is my destiny?" Cloud asked more demandingly.

Zack sighed. He stretched a little and turned to Cloud with a smile. "It's simple, really…You are to have…well, her."

Cloud looked at Ifalna. "What?"

Ifalna laughed and turned to the river. "Haven't you figured it out, yet? Aeris is my mom. Her husband has spiky blonde hair."

"I don't understand…" Cloud said.

"Well, when the mommy and the daddy really, really like each other…"

"No, no, no…" Cloud said. I know that part. What I don't understand is…Why am I destined to have her?"

"Simple…She's the one who will finally bring stability to the planet. First, you have to kill Eiren and Defeat the Cetra on the Planet. Seal the Lifestream so no others can get out, and then…Well, live your life best you can."

Cloud sighed and sat down next to the river. "It's all so…strange. I just…Don't know. I mean, defeating Sephiroth was one thing, but this…this is different all together."

"Da–I mean, Cloud, you can do it, trust me," Iflana said, smiling at him.

"I just…I mean…how do I know if Aeris really feels that way about me?"

Zack and Ifalna busted out laughing.

"He really is dense, isn't he?" Ifalna asked.

"Told ya so."

***

**Lifestream: Dark Waters**

"Cloud…" Aeris whispered to herself. "I can feel you. Please, come get me."

"Now, as we see…This ancient is the last of her breed," Hojo said. "I think we will breed it with the other specimen. This will help us with our research, greatly."

The machine began to kick in, and she felt the elevator rise her up to the tank. Any second, now, Red XIII would come through, and she would fear for her life. She knew that Red was her friend, yet she feared him every time she saw him, just like the first time.

"Please, Cloud…Please…"

***


	7. The War: Lifestream

Chapter 7 **__**

Chapter 7

~ The War: Lifestream ~

(_A/N: It's been a little while since I started on this, and I really love it and want to finish it. If something seems a little out of line from this point on, bare with me, I apologize. I'm working on it!)_

"Shh!" Zack whispered, leaning down below the mound and his hand on his sword. "Keep your head low."

Quickly on his trail, Cloud and Ifalna slid through the rubble of the buildings that was spread out across the streets. Cloud carried a long sword much like the large Buster Sword Zack carried. Ifalna carried a long staff and brought up the rear, keeping an eye out for anything trailing her.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Cloud asked when they leaned up against some rubble to rest for a moment.

Ifalna fell into the rubble next to him and leaned in close. "Cetra Warriors. They like to hide in the shadows and dart out. Very skilled warriors."

"And they'll not have any trouble finding us if you two don't quiet down," Zack whispered harshly.

Not far away, the occasional explosion sounded out, often preceeded by a flash. Already, they watched as several different soldiers, mostly dressed in Shinra uniforms darted down the streets. A green blast, looking much like Ultima shot out over their heads and ripped through several buildings not long ago.

"Where are we?" Cloud asked very, very quietly.

"Nalea, the common city," Ifalna answered. "It was very beautiful not long ago. Since the war erupted, however, its been in ruins."

"Shhh," Zack whispered, looking over the rubble. "Cetra. They have someone."

Cloud looked over the edge of the wall to the street. Three warriors wearing long brown robes and carrying long swords pushed what looked like a civilian to the ground.

"Wait," Cloud whispered, looking at the man. "I know him. It'sTifa's father, isn't it?"

"How should I know?" Ifalna asked. "I've never met him."

"What are they going to do to him?" Cloud asked.

"Probably destroy his soul," Zack said solemnly. "Poor bastard."

Cloud looked carefully at Zack. Then, biting his lip, he launched himself over the rubble and charged at the Cetra. 

"Cloud, what are you doing?" Zack yelled, jumping over the rubble.

The soldier darted across the rubble and swept his sword through the first Cetra. Instantly, the soldier disappeared into nothingness. The other soldiers weren't so startled, however.

The first soldier raised his hand and a flash of fire shot out from it.

Cloud rolled away from the burst and slid down the path, dragging his sword up and into the second Cetra Soldier.

The third soldier raised his hand. Cloud started to turn, but before he could strike, the Soldier was gone. Ifalna stood there, staff still raised. She had taken him out by herself.

Sweat rolled down Cloud's forehead as he looked around.

Zack grabbed the soldier and dragged him out of the open and into some rubble. "Listen, here!" he whispered. "You can't just go out and fight the Cetra! You were lucky this time, but they're not just average Shinra Soldiers! They will kill you then destroy your soul, and all will be lost!"

Ifalna slid into the rubble, guiding the civilian to safety. The man was panting hard. "Th–thank you," he said, looking distant.

Zack turned to Tifa's father and moved his hand up and down. The man disappeared in a flash.

"What did you do to him?" Cloud asked increadulously.

"Don't worry, D–Cloud," Ifalna whispered.

"I sent him to his home. He is safe."

"The lines are shifting," Ifalna said, looking to Zack suddenly. "We need to move, now!"

"Are you sure?" Zack asked.

"Of course," Ifalna cried. "I can feel them coming. I think they can sense him!"

"Cloud?" Zack asked.

"I'm not sure, but we have to move, now!" Ifalna cried.

She grabbed Cloud's hand and darted down the road, Zack in tow, looking around to make sure no one was coming.

"We're all going to be destroyed, aren't we?" Zack whispered to himself. "Damn it."

***

"Wake up, little one," the cold voice echoed through the chamber again.

Aeris felt like she did not long ago when her mother would call her to wake up at her house. She rolled over and pulled the blanket over. The Blanket, however, was covered in a thick, slimy goo. Aeris lifted her hand off the blanket and looked at it. She quickly realized that it wasn't the blanket that was filled with goo, but her. She was spreading it out on the bed and sheets.

"Good morning, my sweet," Eirin laughed. "Are we not disgusted by the Dark Waters of the Lifestream, yet?"

Aeris looked around the room. She was in an elaborately decorated room in the Castle of the Ancients. She turned and looked at Eirin and let out a slow, but painful little laugh. "Not as disgusted as I am by being around you."

Eirin sighed. "Why do I bother?" he asked. "I suppose you'll need one more day in the dark waters?"

"No, wait," Aeris whispered. She then put her hand to her mouth in surprise.

Eirin turned and laughed. "Perhaps we are starting to realize just how bad the waters are? So, are we ready to go back to the Dark Waters, or shall we maybe just sit and talk for a moment?"

Aeris looked out the window. It looked as though a long golden wheat field lay outside of the castle. Suddenly, the castle didn't seem so dark, and the company didn't seem so bad.

"Yes, Aeris," Eirin whispered. "He isn't coming for you, I'm sorry. Your dear Strife has been killed."

"No, he hasn't," Aeris whispered. "He couldn't have."

"Then why don't you feel him?" Eirin asked, smiling as he sat on the bed.

"My–my nerves. I'm–I'm still a littleout of it from the Dark Waters," Aeris reluctantly said.

"But, I should think that Dark Waters could never come between two lovers as close as you," Eirin laughed.

"I–It shouldn't," Aeris whispered. "I–I'm just tiredand messyand I justI just can't concentrate."

"Don't be a fool, little one," Eirin whispered, brushing one of her long stray hairs back from her face. "Strife is not your destined one. I am. Let us join and rule over the world as we see fit. You can finally bring peace and happiness to all you care about."

"At what cost?" Aeris asked, looking Eirin in the eyes. "At what price do I have to pay, to rule the world, if I lose my own soul in the process?"

Eirin let out another audible sigh. "I try to reason with you. I suppose you do, indeed, need another day in the Dark Waters. Guard."

"NO, Wait!" Aeris gasped, reaching out to him. "No, I can't go back there. IT's too much."

"One more day is all," Eirin smiled, looking down at Aeris as though she were a helpless child. "After that I don't doubt for a minute you'll see me as you should. As your lover."

As the guards dragged her off, Aeris screamed and fought. Finally, when they were out of the room, one of the guards hit her across the face with his staff. She was out cold.

***

"Here they come!" Zack yelled.

Three great bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, causing massive explosions along the ground. 

Cloud, Ifalna and Zack ducked and dodged the debris kicked up from the explosions.

Hundreds, even thousands of Cetra Soldiers poured over the hill and down the streets between the buildings. Most of the raised their arms and various attacks shot out from their hands.

Before most could hit, however, a barrier was cast between them and the trio. The human army swarmed from the other hill-top and swarmed down streets.

"We're smack in the middle of it all!" Ifalna yelled.

"Then MOVE!" Zack screamed.

The three shot up the street as fast as they could. Immediately behind them the two armies slammed into one another, slicing and casting spells all over the place.

Debris and even bodies flew over Cloud's head. Soldiers jumped out from buildings trying to attack him. Zack and Ifalna attacked the soldiers and took care of them, however. 

One thing Cloud had to admit, Ifalna was a true warrior. She could fight as well as Zack, and maybe even better.

"Stop gawking and MOVE!" Ifalna yelled.

A building behind them blew out in a great fireball, sending bodies flying everywhere. Cloud and Ifalna dodged around a corner while Zack took out two more soldiers jumping after them.

"We're not far from the Dark Waters, Zack! Does he need to go in at a certain place?"

"No, he'll be able to find her through the waters!" Zack yelled. "You DO still feel her, right, Cloud?"

Cloud nodded. It was fading, but he could still sense Aeris's soul.

Ifalna grabbed Cloud's hand and pulled him down the long street. It was clear running ahead, but the occasional blast of ice, fire, or lightning, would send them dodging out of the way.

"Cloud, listen to me, okay!" Ifalna yelled as Zack took the point. "The Dark Waters are what nightmares are made of. They're your own version of Hell. You will have to fight through your own fears first. Don't let them stop you! Then, you'll have to seek out Mom and help her fight her demons. Once done, get out of the waters and get back to your own Heaven. Mom should know how to get you there. Once there, leave the Lifestream. I don't know how, but you're going to have to figure it out. Maybe mom knows how they do it, but you have to get out while you can! Do you understand?"  
Cloud nodded as he ducked another fireball. They were running down the street as fast as they could. Just before they came to the bridge where the dark, dark green waters ran, a huge soldier jumped out, knocking Zack's sword out from his hand. With another blow, he knocked Zack against the wall behind him.

"Zack!" Ifalna yelled. She turned and thrust her staff into the Cetra's gut, but it knocked the staff away and grabbed her arm lifting her into the air. "Cloud! Go!" she yelled.

Cloud hesitated, he pulled his sword out and turned to attack the soldier. Before he could take a step, however, he was shoved by an unseen person into the dark waters. 

Just as he fell in, he saw the face of the man who pushed him in. It was a familiar, and all together surprising, face.

After Cloud went under the dark waters, the man turned and shot forward, sending his long blade through the Cetra's gut, causing it to disappear.

"You okay?" the man asked, looking down at Ifalna.

"Yeah. Did Dad make it?" she asked.

"Yeah. Is Zack okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I don't know we could have done it without you, Sephiroth," Zack said, looking at the white-haired man standing in front of him. 

Sephiroth looked over the waters. "Now, it's up to him. Pull the army back. Our price for that small victory is this side of the city. Hurry, before we lose too many men."

"Yes, sir," Zack said, saluting, then running off.

Ifalna looked out at the waters. She longed to join them.

"Don't think of it," Sephiroth said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "It's their battle, now."

***

Cloud opened his eyes slowly. Fires raged about him. Nibleheim was on fire again. Nearby, Cloud knew his mother was already dead.

"No" he whispered, tears flowing from his eyes as he looked up to the heavens. "Not again"


End file.
